(NEW YORK, NY, 6/18/13) - The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today welcomed a legal challenge to the unconstitutional New York Police Department (NYPD) program engaging in mass surveillance of Muslim communities.

In August of 2011, an investigation by The Associated Press revealed an NYPD program developed in partnership with the CIA to target American Muslims with unprecedented monitoring, surveillance and alleged civil rights violations.

Today the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the City University of New York Law School's Center for Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CUNY CLEAR), filed a lawsuit to challenge the NYPD's unconstitutional policy and practice of targeting entire Muslim communities for discriminatory and surveillance without suspicion of wrongdoing.

Last week CAIR-New York cited racial profiling and the lack of oversight of the NYPD in its testimony on the NY State Hate Crimes Law. CAIR-NY stated at that hearing that the NYPD's targeting of Muslim communities has created distrust of law enforcement, and has created an atmosphere of anti-Muslim bias that invites hate crimes.

CAIR-NY has also advocated for the passage of bills in the New York State Assembly and Senate that create independent oversight of the NYPD, and advocated for the passage of the Community Safety Act at the New York City Council. Part of the Community Safety Act, including a bill to establish independent oversight of the NYPD, will go before the City Council for a vote within the coming month.

CAIR-NY is a chapter of America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR-FL:Delta Air Lines Refuses to Transport Body of Muslim Shot by FBI (Boston Globe)The airline's corporate policy states the airline will ship a body as long as a birth certificate can be produced, said Thania Diaz Clevenger, the group's civil rights director. But even when that document was produced, an airline representative informed CAIR that it would not ship the body, citing a similar decision made during the effort to bury Tsarnaev.

CAIR-MI: The F.B.I. Deemed Agents Faultless in 150 Shootings (NY Times)The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit against the F.B.I. The group was concerned in part because the handgun had no recoverable fingerprints and because of facial injuries to Mr. Abdullah. It also contends that the dog may have been shot instead by the F.B.I. agents and the gun thrown down in a cover-up.

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/19/13) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said today it is asking prosecutors to bring charges against a woman whose anti-Muslim rant and alleged assault targeting a Virginia Muslim taxi driver was caught on 911 recordings and on the cabbie's tablet computer.

This is the second time CAIR has sought hate crime charges for an assault on a Muslim cabbie in that state. In the most recent case, a woman shouting obscenities called 911 claiming she was afraid for her life because the taxi driver, Abdikar Aden, was "very Muslim." The driver reported to CAIR that the woman poked him repeatedly in the back during the incident.

Aden said the woman, identified in the police report as Jennifer Crabbe of Ashburn, Va., reportedly claimed that Muslims come to America and work as taxi drivers to save money so they can blow themselves up. He said that when the woman poked him and threatened to have him deported, he pulled over and called 911. Aden then began recording the incident on his tablet computer. The woman, who used the F-word more than a dozen times, was recorded saying, "I have some Muslim guy, which I am very scared, who is our taxi driver."

CAIR has asked Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Raymond Morrogh to prosecute the April 23 incident as a hate crime and thereby "send the message that bigoted acts of violence have no place in Fairfax County."

In his letter to Morrogh, CAIR Staff Attorney Gadeir Abbas also wrote:

"This is important, not only for the thousands of Muslims that live in Fairfax County, but to all residents who value and benefit from the vibrancy and strength diversity brings to the area. It is the expectation of both CAIR and Mr. Aden that Ms. Crabbe will be held accountable for her venomous and unlawful assault."

Last month, CAIR sought similar hate crime charges for an alleged assault on a Muslim U.S. Army reservist and Iraq veteran reportedly attacked by a passenger who compared him to those who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings and threatened to kill him. Prosecutors in Fairfax County are considering what charges to bring in that case and a hearing is scheduled for August.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

NY MenFace Terrorism Charges for Plot to Kill Muslims (USA Today)A Ku Klux Klansman working for General Electric and an accomplice are facing terrorism charges in Upstate New York for allegedly planning to build a mobile X-ray weapon to kill Muslims and other "enemies of Israel," federal authorities announced Wednesday.

CAIR Says UCF Professor Promotes 'Raw, Anti-Muslim Hate' (Orlando Sentinel)Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the national Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he does not understand how a publicly-funded university such as UCF could allow a professor to promote such hateful views.

WA: Is This Ad Campaign Racist?In a letter to the FBI requesting they pull the campaign from Seattle buses, McDermott sounds off on what he says is "offensive to Muslims and ethnic minorities" and "encourages racial and religious profiling."

CAIR-MN: Council Votes on Allowing Muslim Private School"The Muslim community is going through what many before us did to establish their right to practice their faith," CAIR-MN executive director Lori Saroya said. "We look to our city leaders to ensure that all Blaine residents are treated with the respect and fairness that they deserve."

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/21/13) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said that former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who President Obama nominated this afternoon to be the next director of the FBI, has a “mixed record” on the protection of civil liberties.

In a statement issued in response to Comey's nomination, CAIR said:

"The FBI, like the nation, is at a crossroads. Mr. Comey's nomination to FBI director comes at a time when the president and Congress should be working together to ensure that our nation's law enforcement and counterterrorism programs uphold longstanding commitments to civil liberties.

"Comey's mixed record on civil liberties as a former senior Justice Department official under the George W. Bush administration raises a number of serious concerns that will need to be addressed during the confirmation process by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Mr. Comey certainly deserves credit for his threatened resignation over Bush administration attempts to recertify the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretap program Stellar Wind. In March 2004, during a hospital room showdown, Mr. Comey stood at the bedside of a then incapacitated Attorney General Ashcroft, refusing attempts by Chief of Staff Andrew Card Jr. and then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to reauthorize the NSA's 'fundamentally wrong' domestic warrantless spying program. Ashcroft himself said that he should have never authorized the program.

"In light of revelations that the FBI and NSA are gathering data from some of the nation's top Internet technology and social network service providers and collecting the phone records of millions of Americans, CAIR urges the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Mr. Comey on whether or not he is able to provide new leadership within the FBI that respects constitutional protections of privacy and the prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure.

"As deputy attorney general, Mr. Comey approved some of the Bush administration's most egregious and unconstitutional counterterrorism program abuses. He oversaw and defended the indefinite detention of Jose Padilla -- an American citizen who was arrested inside the United States -- who was initially denied access to lawyers and detained in a military brig without charge or trial for three and a half years.

"As the Obama administration revitalizes its own efforts to prosecute suspected terrorists, CAIR calls on the Senate to press Mr. Comey on whether or not he still defends the practice of indefinite detention.

"Although Mr. Comey expressed 'grave reservations' within the Bush administration over CIA interrogation methods, including waterboarding and sleep deprivation, declassified documents show that in 2005 he signed off on such practices. CAIR urges the Senate to clarify whether or not Mr. Comey believed such abusive interrogation practices are lawful and whether or not he would tolerate these cruelties under a future administration.

"President Obama pledged during his May 23 speech on national security policy to 'guard against any encroachments on [American Muslim] civil liberties' as it 'is the ultimate rebuke to those who say we are at war with Islam.'

"For the past 12 years, the FBI's engagement strategy with the American Muslim community has been tarnished by frequent reports of community harassment, profiling, intimidation, warrantless surveillance, use of ex-convicts as community spies, informant driven plots of entrapment, coercion to speak without legal representation, purposeful misapplication of terrorist watch lists -- including the extrajudicial exile of American citizens traveling abroad - inappropriate religious questioning at the U.S. border and ports of entry, acts of wrongful detention, and lethal use of force.

"Looking toward the future in considering Mr. Comey's nomination, CAIR calls on Congress and the FBI to adopt stronger programs to counter violent extremism that support direct community outreach and engagement, and to implement law enforcement investigation methods that emphasize pursuing and preventing criminal actions, not religious beliefs."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR-LA: Government Domestic Spying Unsettling News for Campuses "Definitely the events that unfolded on the East Coast reverberated here and it made everyone really wonder and question whether or not similar programs exist here at the federal or local law enforcement level," said CAIR-LA's Ameena Qazi.

More Muslim Spying Overreachby the N.Y.P.D. (NY Times)It is up to the courts to determine whether the Muslim surveillance program and the stop-and-frisk program are constitutional. What already seems clear is that these surveillance policies create suspicion and mistrust, which does not help the Police Department or anyone else.

CAIR-LA:Mosque-Building Rises as Muslim American Clout Grows (LA Times)The mosque construction attracted no local opposition -- unlike projects in Temecula, Lomita and Ontario. There, neighbors raised concerns about potential problems with noise, traffic and parking -- objections Muslims have successfully addressed, according to Ameena Mirza Qazi of CAIR-LA. Some of those debates were marked by anti-Islam comments and fears about terrorism expressed by some opponents.

CAIR-MN: Islamic School Gets OK from Blaine City Council (Pioneer Press)CAIR-MN welcomed Thursday's vote. "I was extremely impressed with how city council members not only used their vote to convey that religious freedom is something that is welcome in Blaine, but also to say to residents that this is not acceptable behavior," said Lori Saroya, the organization's executive director.

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/24/13) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today thanked the Albany, N.Y., Jewish community for helping to prevent a terror plot to kill Muslims, who the alleged plotters referred to as "medical waste."

Glendon Scott Crawford, a reputed member of the Ku Klux Klan, took undercover FBI agents along last week as he scouted out an Albany mosque and an Islamic center in Schenectady as "viable target" locations. Crawford, one of two alleged plotters who were arrested, then reportedly took the agents to a garage in which he assembled what he believed to be a lethal device capable of silently killing the intended victims with radiation.

Court documents show that Crawford approached an Albany-area synagogue and another Jewish organization in 2012 hoping to "speak with a person who might be willing to help him with a type of technology that could be used by Israel to defeat its enemies, specifically, by killing Israel's enemies while they slept." Instead, the groups called law enforcement authorities.

"We thank the New York Jewish community and its leaders for helping to foil this potentially deadly terror plot targeting American Muslims. It is this type of cooperation with law enforcement authorities by religious communities that will ensure our nation’s safety and security."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR-LA: The Future of Religion? Look at OC (OC Register)Hussam Ayloush, head of the Orange County office of the Council on American Islamic Relations, a national advocacy group, led a recent push to elect local Muslims as delegates to the California Democratic Party.

CAIR: Pork-Laced Ammo Made to Kill Muslims (ABC)Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Hills were trying to exploit Muslims for their own profit. "This is just one of many individuals and companies who seek to make a quick buck exploiting the growing Islamaphobia in our society," Hooper said. "We're not motivated by giving them free publicity they so desperately seek. That's their intention -- to get people upset so that they talk about it and they make money. "If somebody did actually use one of these bullets to target a Muslim," he added, "I am sure that a hate crime enhancement would fit."

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/25/13) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the killingof four Egyptian Shia Muslims by a mob in a village near Cairo. Egyptian religious and political leaders have also condemned the killings.

"We condemn this inexcusable and un-Islamic attack and urge everyone in Egypt and throughout the region to avoid the trap of sectarian division. All those who participated in the attack on the Shia community in Egypt must immediately be brought to justice."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

(TAMPA, FL, 6/17/13) - The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL), along with other community organizations, announced today that it has called on the University of Central Florida (UCF) to review the accuracy and objectivity of information offered to students in courses taught by Dr. Jonathon Matusitz.

CAIR-FL says Matusitz, an associate professor in the UCF Nicholson School of Communication, is "membership director" for the anti-Muslim hate group ACT! for America and bizarrely claims Germany will "become an Islamic republic by 2050."

ACT! for America leader Hanah Kahwagi Tudor, who goes by the pseudonym "Brigitte Gabriel," says an American Muslim "cannot be a loyal citizen" and that Islam is the "real enemy." She once told the Australian Jewish News: "Every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim." Tudor also claimed that "Islamo-fascism is a politically-correct word ... it's the vehicle for Islam ... Islam is the problem." The New York Times describes Gabriel as a "radical Islamophobe" who in the past has made statements like "Arabs have no soul" and "Arabs are barbarians."

Matusitz recently told a Tea party gathering, "The problem is not so much the average Muslim, as it is the ideology," and falsely claimed that the Quran has "a lot of hateful verses that urge the adherents to kill non-Muslims." Public outcry forced Florida Republicans to cancel a scheduled lecture by Matusitz titled "The Islamic Threat to America."

Moderates within the Republican Party, such as Chris Latvala, son of state Sen. Jack Latvala, expressed concerns with Matusitz's talk, describing it on his Facebook as "bashing an entire religion practiced by many in Pinellas County."

In a letter outlining Matusitz's Islamophobic views sent to the Dean of the UCF College of Sciences Dr. Michael Johnson, CAIR-FL wrote in part:

"His presentations on these subjects are full of anti-Muslim bigotry in the form of hate speech, inaccuracies, sweeping generalizations and stereotypes that would mislead students to believe that all Islamic societies are nothing more than violent, hate-filled terrorist factories. ...

"The focus of Dr. Matusitz's teachings appears to be more about his personal ungrounded fear of Muslims than about teaching students how any culture actually facilitates terrorism. ...

"We are requesting that courses taught by Dr. Matusitz be thoroughly reviewed by the College of Sciences so that your students are not subjected to his apparent disinformation and bigotry."

Last week, Florida Atlantic University distanced itself from an advisor who made anti-Muslim statements on Facebook.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

(SOUTH FLORIDA, 6/13/13) – The South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFL) today called on Florida Atlantic University (FAU) to drop an advisor who has expressed and supported extremist anti-Muslim views online.

Roxanna Trinka, who is director of the Research Park at FAU and an advisor to the College of Engineering, posted and re-posted a number of Islamophobic messages on Facebook, including a "joke" about a future in which Muslims do not exist.

Other online comments included, "[Islam is a religion of] Piece-full, heads here, hands there, legs here," and "We can't CO-EXIST with people that want to kill us. . .we are all infidels in their eyes." She also promoted the bizarre Islamophobic conspiracy theory that "Sharia Law" will soon take over America.

"Roxanna Trinka's bigoted and extremist views, coupled with her involvement with FAU, certainly raise concerns with the South Florida Muslim community," said CAIR-SFL Executive Director Nezar Hamze. "This type of bigotry has the potential to create a hostile learning environment for Muslim students and damages the university's image and creditability."

"It is for that reason that the university should disassociate itself from Ms. Trinka and her extremist and intolerant views," said Hamze.

He said this issue comes up as a Florida Dunkin' Donuts employee faced a bigoted tirade from a customer who called him a "little f----- sand n-----."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding

CAIR:Pompeo's Claim About Muslim Leaders was 'Irresponsible' (Wichita Eagle)The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, called on Pompeo to correct his "false and irresponsible" remarks and provided him with links to dozens and dozens of statements by U.S. Muslim leaders condemning terrorism.

CAIR-Chicago:Religious Leaders Call for Immigration Reform (Sun-Times)[CAIR-Chicago's] Ahmed Rehab has given more than 100 speeches on the issue in the past few years. "Families are broken; individuals are devastated," he said. "They're just human beings trying to make it. They're arrested and deported without any account for who they leave behind or how their lives are affected. "Social justice is a core belief in the Islamic faith, especially for those in a position of weakness. We're encouraged to stand by them."

(NEW YORK, NY, 6/16/13) - On Friday, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) submitted written testimony for a public hearing on that state's hate crimes law hosted by ranking member of the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations State Senator Brad Hoylman.

The forum to discuss New York's 13-year-old law came in the wake of a recent spike in hate incidents in New York City. CAIR-NY has received 10 reported incidents of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the last 10 months.

The testimony submitted by CAIR-NY specifically addressed underreporting of hate crimes, the promotion of anti-Muslim sentiments in the community by discriminatory policing and the rise of anti-Muslim hate groups based in New York.

CAIR-NY urged those in attendance to familiarize themselves with the CUNY Center for Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR) Mapping Muslims Report to understand the damage created by the NYPD mass surveillance of Muslims. CAIR-NY also urged support for legislation in Albany introduced to end NYPD unconstitutional surveillance of Muslim communities.

The testimony also highlighted the interactions between the nine New York-based anti-Muslim hate groups and policy makers in the state.

"We look forward to following-up with Senator Hoylman to ensure our recommendations are taken to heart and to bring more awareness to the root causes of anti-Muslim violence in the state of New York," said CAIR-NY Executive Director Muneer Awad. "We cannot afford to focus only on responses to hate crimes while we have elected officials and policy-makers actively creating the atmosphere of anti-Muslim sentiment that facilitates these crimes."

The offices of various elected officials joined CAIR-NY to testify at the hearing including the offices of State Assembly Member John Millman, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, New York City Coucnil Member Daniel Dromm, and the Kings County District Attorney.

CAIR's National Office submitted written testimony to a Federal Hate Crimes Hearing in 2012, hosted by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.

CAIR-NY is a chapter of America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

CAIR: Tenn. Muslims Vow to Keep Talking After Shout-Down (NPR)Ibrahim Hooper with the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the mood felt a bit like people should be carrying "pitchforks and torches." "Whenever you have hate crimes being applauded by an audience, you've got to wonder what's happening there," he says.

Commentary: Anti-Muslim Hate Comes to Manchester, TennesseeAs a representative of the Muslim community who was participating in the forum, the words of hate that I heard spoken on this day are something that I will not forget for a long time.

Islamic Law Bans Often Dismissed as a Joke, But Story Isn't Going AwayThese amused and amusing reactions are understandable given the absurdity of the notion that "creeping Sharia,"--the alarmist term sometimes used by advocates of these bills--is poised to overwhelm the Midwest. But they understate the seriousness and persistence of the movement behind such legislation, and its potential effects on American Muslims and non-Muslims alike. (Read more)

CAIR: UK Mosques Urged to Install Panic Alarms, Safe Rooms (Guardian)Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for CAIR, said: "From the outside it definitely seems UK mosques are more at risk than anywhere, including the States. There have been a number of recent incidents targeting UK mosques, groups like the English Defence League marching on mosques and a spike in violent right-wing groups."